Advantages and Disadvantages of Steel Doors & Windows

If you’ve started building a new home or are renovating your current home, one of the things you might be looking at redoing are the doors and windows of your house. Tradition would seem to dictate that you have wooden doors and windows installed. Before you do so, however, stop and think for a minute.

Whether you’re a business owner securing your premises or a homeowner setting up or renovating your house, chances are you’re considering wooden doors and windows especially when it comes to the front and back doors. However, while wood doors and windows may have that lovely feel of wood grain and may even come cheaper than steel doors or steel windows, they are not a great long-term investment. After all, wood can warp, bubble, peel, twist and bow because of weather conditions; at this point, it will need to be replaced. You’ll end up spending more.

Keeping all this in mind, it seems prudent that you learn all you can about steel doors and steel windows and how they would fit into your home and/or business. If you have more questions you can talk to steel door manufacturers or steel window manufacturers. Let’s take a look.

What are Steel Doors and Windows?

The first thing to know about steel doors and steel windows is that, contrary to popular belief, most of these doors and windows aren’t made of steel through and through. Solid metal doors can usually be found in places such as military or marine bases but are too heavy and bulky to be used in homes or even in most businesses. ordinary steel doors are generally made of a wood or foam core that is then covered with something called 24-gauge steel. What that means is that thickness of the coating is 0.0250 inches or 0.0635 centimetres and the weight is 1.15 pounds or approximately 0.52 kilograms.Steel windows are basically a steel framework and glass.

If you’re worried about aesthetics, then you should know that you can get doors that are coated in steel on the outside face but have hardwood or oak mouldings on the inside. This means that your home is secure but the door still looks good. Steel windows give your home or establishment a slightly industrialized look and offer you unhindered views of the outside. You can get more information from steel door manufacturers or steel window manufacturers.

Steel doors can be expensive if you decide to install them throughout your home. It is more advisable to use them for the front and rear entrances. This way you have doors that are tamper-proof and can also handle the heavier weights of the heavier locks.

Advantages of Steel Doors and Windows

Steel doors and windows may not be your first choice when you’re shopping for your home, but you will be surprised at the benefits you can reap from them. Here are a few :

Since steel is a strong material, the sightlines on steel windows are quite thin; this means that you get clear views from your windows.

Steel doors and windows don’t need much maintenance

They aren’t vulnerable to cracking, bowing and rust

Steel doors can reduce your heating and cooling costs since they come with insulating properties

Steel doors come in various degrees of fire-resistance

Steel doors and windows can be repaired just as easily as wooden ones and don’t need to be replaced as often

Disadvantages of Steel Doors and Windows

Nothing is perfect and steel doors and windows come with some of their own vulnerabilities. They are :

Thanks to the fact that there is a metal coating, these doors and windows can end up being fairly heavy

They can also be fairly expensive

If you live in climates near salt water, steel doors and windows aren’t the best choices since they require more protection to prevent them from being corroded by airborne salt there is a lot more to know and learn about steel doors and windows. Before you make final decisions, it is definitely a good idea to talk to steel door manufacturers and steel window manufacturers about them.